Future residents of a burgeoning assisted living facility currently under construction in town will find some familiar names and sights upon completion. Among them are the Claflin Library and apple trees from the former farm on the property.

It's not by coincidence - owners had hoped to make the facility a part of the community.

Construction on Cornerstone at Milford, an 85-apartment assisted living and memory care community on Rte. 109 on the corner of Birch Street, is about halfway complete since work commenced last December.

Rodney Denman, the Director of Community Relations at Cornerstone, said the company hopes to offer an innovative assisted living and Alzheimer’s care facility that is integrated into the fabric of the town.

“Milford is a tight-knit, family-oriented community with values similar to those that drive our company,” Denman said. “That makes this a logical place for us.”

The building sits on the former Greenleaf Farm property, owned and operated by the Ciaramicoli family, which ran a popular farmstand there dating back to before the Great Depression.

“We’re saving some of those apple trees to use in our courtyard,” Denman said. “Just one example of how we’ll be part of the community.”

Cornerstone Executive Director Jennifer Lacroix said Milford also offers the perfect location right off the highway to make access easier for families to go with Milford Regional Medical Center offering quality care in the facility’s backyard.

The new facility, set to open Jan. 2, 2014, has already had some interested residents, Denman said, following model unit tours beginning this week.

The models show studio and one-bedroom apartments that, Denman said, are unique in their offerings of kitchenettes, complete with dining space, and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.

“It looks more like an apartment,” Denman said. “The kitchenette is more like the one they had in their home. It’s supposed to create a smoother transition.”

Beyond the individual units, Denman said the public areas are built to be therapeutic and accessible for residents as well.

“Many times, assisted living facilities will offer beautiful common areas, but they aren’t easy for people to use,” Denman said. “All of our indoor and outdoor spaces were built with ease of access and usability in mind.”

Cornerstone is owned and operated by Senior Living Residents, which has 11 other facilities throughout Massachusetts, including an Alzheimer’s treatment center in Hopkinton, that have been operating for more than 20 years.

Denman said the new Milford facility will not only draw on that experience, but also is being built and operated under the guidance of affiliates at the Boston University School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Cornerstone also seeks to offer the most cutting-edge Alzheimer’s care that incorporates the latest research.

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“We focus on ways to treat those with memory care needs to help them have productive and engaged lives in the ways that others may think they aren’t able to have any more,” Denman said.

Contact Lindsay Corcoran at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @LacorcMDN.